By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
February 24, 1992
If they had to, the musicians in Teenage Fanclub could cloak many weaknesses with their sweet melodies and delicious harmonies. But when the vocals are as perfect as they were at the band’s Chicago debut Friday night at the Cabaret Metro, it really doesn’t matter how profound or inane the lyrics are.
At their sold-out show, the group dished up the same savory vocals that are featured on its current LP “Bandwagonesque,” but with the added bonus of cranked-up instrumentation. With their guitar-dueling, Raymond McGinley and Norman Blake had the predominantly teenage audience bopping and stage-diving throughout the gig.
They could do with a little mobility, but lip-syncing isn’t necessary with these Scots. The four-man band is lucky enough to have two superb lead vocalists in Blake and bassist Gerard Love. When they harmonize, they evoke memories of John Lennon and Paul McCartney during the Beatles’ heyday. No vocal slouches themselves, McGinley and drummer Brendan O’Hare provide subtle, but strong, backup.
It’s easy to get lost in the euphoria of their voices and forget that some of their songs are just downright stupid. “What You Do to Me” is so beautiful to listen to you almost forget it’s based around repeating the title like a mantra. Then there’s their perverted nursery rhyme line, “When you’re ticking, I’m your tock. Then again you’re just a f – – -.”
Judging by their lyrics, these guys aren’t lucky in love. They tweak fictional and real lovers in songs like “Star Sign” (“Hey, there’s a horseshoe on my door. Big deal. . . . These things make your day”), “Metal Baby” (“I’m not the sort of person she’ll admit she knows”) and “Everybody’s Fool.”
The band’s love for irony is offset by a romantic streak that surfaces when you least expect it. After the brutal honesty of “Alcoholiday” (“There are things I want to do, but I don’t know if they will be with you . . .”), not many fans were prepared to hear Blake coo, “I would die for her love.”
Ranging in age from mid- to late-20s, the Fanclub’s charter members are young enough not to care about adhering to conventional musical standards, but old enough to know that much of music’s best present tense springs from the past. They’ve borrowed their chunky guitar style from Crazy Horse, lush harmonies from the Beatles and smart arrangements from Alex Chilton’s Big Star. While not wholly innovative, the group has developed a winning sound that hasn’t peaked yet.
